Family Values
by MsDaHedgehog
Summary: After a visit from a mystery woman, Tony disappears and Gibbs believes Vance knows why. Two weeks later he returns, but he's not alone.


Gibbs was sitting at his desk, hitting furiously at his computer keys as he typed up a report. McGee winced every time his boss' fingers and the keys connected, but Gibbs had long since stopping caring what the young Agent thought. See, Gibbs was pissed – beyond pissed – because it hit the two week mark since he'd last seen or heard from DiNozzo, his second in command... He had no idea what the hell had happened that afternoon and, to make matters worse, it seemed Leon Vance knew _exactly_ what was going on. Every time Gibbs asked the Director where DiNozzo was, all Vance told him was that he'd be back when he was ready. All calls he made to DiNozzo's cell went unanswered and he knew it was the same for the two other members on his team. Things were even more confusing when it appeared Tony's apartment hadn't been used much since his disappearance from the office but the packing boxes indicated he was in the process of or planned on moving... and he knew that because Ziva had picked the lock when she and Abby went round to see if every thing was okay.

"Boss?"

"What?"

"The GPS on Tony's phones been turned on."

Both Gibbs and Ziva's heads shot up, and both left their seats to rush over to McGee's desk.

"Where is he?"

McGee tapped and clicked in rapid speed until the location was brought up on the screen. "Uh, Boss?" He said uncertainly.

"Where is he, McGee?" Gibbs wasn't in the mood.

"He's in the building... and the signals moving up."

Ziva moved closer to the screen to confirm for herself, not trusting that the information was true. Gibbs, however, turned to stare at the elevator – which had just 'dinged' someones arrival to the floor - and, sure enough, Tony DiNozzo stepped off... but he wasn't alone. In his arms, a tiny bundle of pink blankets was securely clutched to his chest, a minute hand protruding and grabbing on to his shirt.

An unnatural hush fell over the entire office (every one having known of Tonys sudden disappearance), and Tony seemed to have been temporarily frozen, having made no attempt to move. Gibbs slowly made his way to him, now finding himself far more confused than angry. He stopped just before him, having heard the bundle whimper. Gibbs was shocked at the softness of Tony's voice as he cooed down in comfort. The whimpering stopped as soon as it started.

Gibbs nodded to the baby and spoke in a whisper. "Yours?"

Tony kept his attention on the sleeping girl, unable to bring himself to look at his boss. "In a manner of speaking."

"Agent DiNozzo." Vance had appeared behind Gibbs. He stood between the two men and slipped the diaper bag from Tonys shoulder on to his own. "My office. Amelia is more than welcome to join us."

This was confirmation enough for Gibbs that Vance knew more than him... it was blatantly obvious. Gibbs watched the two – no, _three_ – of them walk up the stairs to Vance's office. Tony was a lot more cautious going up, talking the steps as singles rather than his usual two at a time. Both Ziva and McGee now stood beside him in observing the trio.

"Boss, what's going on?" McGee asked, though he was cautious with his words.

"I have no idea."

* * *

Up in Vance's office, Tony seated himself on the couch, rather than in front of the desk, per the Directors instruction and Amelia settled in the crook of his arm, rather than against his chest. Vance set a mug of coffee on the small table beside Tony and took the remaining seat.

"She's small for her age, I expected her to be much bigger... then again, my children were huge at five months."

"She is." Tony readjusted the baby in his arms so she was more comfortable. "Low birth weight; they suspect it had part to do with her mom's caffeine intake and the smoking. She was also born prematurely – only by a few weeks – due to pre-eclampsia. I had her checked over, the doc said it'll take a while to get her to where she needs to be but she's getting there."

"Rough start."

"Yep," said Tony, popping the 'p'. He hated Amelia's mom for putting her through that at birth. He'd admit, the pre-eclampsia wasn't her fault (though going to all her appointments and taking the meds she was given would have helped), but no mother should ever smoke while carrying a baby.

Vance's cell started ringing and, after glancing at the caller ID, he stood. "Sorry, I have to take this."

Tony nodded and Vance left him on the couch to walk over to the window, answering the call as he went. Amelia gurgled in her sleep and Tony looked down at her, smiling. She may be small, but she was the most beautiful girl Tony had ever laid eyes on. He closed his own eyes and, without realising just how tired the last two weeks had made him, he drifted off in to a deep slumber, reliving the meeting he'd first had with Vance two weeks ago.

 _It had been a fairly quiet morning and the afternoon seemed to be going no different; no new deaths graced their desks and all Gibbs had requested of them was to complete and file all their paperwork from the last two cases. Tony, Ziva and McGee, however, were a little too pre-occupied with trying to work out who the sharply dressed woman escorted up to Vances office fifteen minutes ago was. She looked official, but not Law Enforcement official, and the three of them all agreed that that was probably worse._

 _They all stood, leaning against Ziva's desk watching for any change when Vance came thundering out of his office. The three agents shot back behind their desks with the pretense of having been working the entire time._

" _DiNozzo! My office, now!"_

 _Vance's words echoed around the space and no one spoke. Tony gulped loudly - what the hell had he done now?_

" _Now, DiNozzo... or do I have to come down there and get you?"_

 _Tony dived from behind his desk and sprinted round and up the stairs; taking them three at a time and almost tripping when he reached the top. Vance turned on his heel and marched Tony to his office – and the suited woman was in there waiting patiently for them._

 _Vance neglected to take his seat, choosing instead to stay standing next to Tony (something which made Tony dread what was about to happen), as he introduced the woman._

" _Agent DiNozzo, this is Helen Tailor from Social Services. Ms Tailor, this is Anthony DiNozzo, Jr."_

" _Pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand to him._

" _Likewise." He shook it, then turned to his Director. "With all due respect, Sir, what the hell's going on?"_

 _Vance grimaced, but it wasn't him that answered._

" _Mr DiNozzo," Helen handed him a photo of a baby dressed in pink ans who looked no older than a few months. "This is Amelia Carmella DiNozzo."_

 _Tonys throat constricted and he could feel himself start to panic. DiNozzo, her name was DiNozzo? Was she his? Some woman had given her his name? How... who?"_

" _Relax, DiNozzo," Vance placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "It's not what you think, it is, Ms Tailor?"_

" _Forgive me," she looked thoroughly apologetic. "If you think that I am suggesting Miss Amelia is yours, you're mistaken." Relief flooded Tony... then realisation dawned on him, but he didn't get a chance to ask for confirmation before Helen continued. "Her mother, Crystal DiNozzo, nee Hastings, disappeared almost a week ago and left Amelia on her fathers doorstep. Her father, Mr Anthony DiNozzo_ Senior _waived his parental rights the very same day."_

 _So Amelia was his sister. Tony growled out a few well chosen curses for his father. He got his wife pregnant then waived his rights to the baby? It was bad enough when he disowned_ him _at twelve years old, but doing it to his daughter when she was only a few months old... Tony didn't know what was worse. Where was her mother? Why had she just upped and left Amelia on Seniors doorstep? What happened between the two, and why the_ hell _had they allowed an innocent child to be caught up in the middle? The thing that bothered Tony the most was why his father informed him of the birth of his sister? The idea of having a_ baby _sister at almost forty was strange... but stranger things had happened. Tony was, however, still confused as to why Tailor was here, at NCIS, speaking to him._

" _DiNozzo," Vance spoke somewhat softly to him. "Take a seat, you too, Ms Tailor."_

 _The three of them took seats at the conference table. Tailor took a pile of papers from her briefcase and looked up at Tony. "I understand this may come as a bit of a shock to you -"_

" _A bit?" Tony loosened his tie and gave a harsh laugh. "The man I was named after disowned me when I was twelve, Ms Tailor, it comes as no surprise to me that he would do it again... though it's a little early for his style. You see, he usually leaves it long enough for the person he's cutting off to be emotionally scarred first. I just don't understand why you're here talking to me. Do you expect me to go and talk some sense in to the selfish pig? Because let me tell you -"_

" _Agent DiNozzo," Vance said warningly. He knew all about Tonys relationship with his father (having read his file upon becoming Director)._

" _We've been trying to contact you since Amelia was handed over in to our care, but for reasons unknown, we were unsuccessful." Tony scanned back over the last few days and recalled numerous withheld numbers he'd ignored, and he did happen to have a bunch of unopened mail on his kitchen counter._

" _When they couldn't reach you personally, they decided to go through your place of employment, hence why I'm now involved and there was no warning of Ms Tailors visit." Vance sighed._

" _Whilst we attempt to locate Amelia's mother, someone needs to look after her. The systems overwhelmed enough as it is and in cases like these, the agency prefers for temporary guardianship to be given to a family member and the child stay with them."_

 _Tony now understood_ why _Tailor was here – she wanted him to take his sister in, but there was something that didn't sit quiet right with him. "Hold on a minute. Before I even get to what I think you're asking of me, when you find Crystal, are you just going to hand Amelia back over to her? She as good as gave up her own parental rights when she left her on Seniors doorstep!"_

" _There will be a full investigation, and Mrs DiNozzo will have to undergo a series of evaluations before a decision is made." Tony scoffed and Vance sent him another look of warning, though his face showed he didn't agree either. "She's barely twenty-two, there could be any number of reasons behind what she did, each of which will be thoroughly looked in to."_

 _Tony choked on his own breath at the mention of his..._ step-mothers _age – she was almost twenty years younger than him! Vance slapped him hard on the back, trying his hardest not to smirk – apparently the age difference between parties involved was amusing to him._

" _Right," said Tony, taking a sip of the water Vance offered him._

" _Mr DiNozzo, do you understand where I'm going with this?" Tailor raised an eyebrow at him._

 _Tony sighed. "You want me to take Amelia in, because I seem to be her only family, until you find Crystal and assess whether or not she's capable of caring for her daughter."_

 _Tailor nodded. "It's either that or she ends up in the system."_

" _No!" The strength of Tonys voice shocked them all. "I've seen what happens to kids in the system... I wont let her be one of them."_

" _Excellent. I'll need to conduct a home visit, shall we say," she checked the clock – it was almost half past two in the afternoon. "Five this evening? It'll give you plenty of time to make your apartment presentable, I'm sure. Director Vance has already provided me with the necessary background check I needed and that's fine. If all goes well, you can come with me to get Amelia tonight."_

 _Tony could only nod as Helen gathered the papers and put them back in her briefcase. Vance stood with her, showing her the door. "Cynthia, can you have someone escort Ms Tailor back to her car, please? Ms Tailor, I'd be more than happy to vouch for Tony if need be."_

" _Thank you, I'll be in contact if I need to."_

 _Tony heard the exchange without actually listening. What had he just done? He didn't have the slightest idea how to raise a child. Vance slammed his door shut and Tony didn't even flinch._

" _What the hell was that, DiNozzo?"_

" _I don't know?" He didn't, not really._

" _Do you have any idea how hard raising a child – a_ baby _– is, and you haven't even planned for it." Vance pinched the bridge of his nose. "How much experience do you have?"_

" _None?"_

 _Vance sighed. "Is your apartment in anyway suitable for a baby?" Tony shook his head. "Then you better haul ass home and make it. Wait five minutes to make sure she's gone."_

" _What the hell have I done?" Tony now undid his top button as he started to panic._

" _Panicking now will get you nowhere. Here -" Vance jotted down a few things on a piece of paper and handed it to Tony. It was a list of essentials Tony would need for the new arrival. "You'll need to find out what formula she's on and if she has to take any medication. Oh, and you'll need to know how old she is; the damn woman never told us. Take my car." He flung the keys at Tony. "Jackie borrowed it yesterday to take her sister and niece to brunch. The car seats still fixed in the back, and I think it'll be the right size for her."_

 _Tony lunged at Vance, startling the man as he engulfed him in a brief and high unprofessional hug. Vance patted him awkwardly on the back until Tony released him. "Never do that again."_

" _Yes, Sir."_

" _I'm giving you two weeks, then I want you back in here to discuss your work schedule while you have guardianship of your sister. Leave now and you should at least have time to do a decent job before she turns up."_

 _Tony didn't even wait for an official dismissal before shooting out of the room. The squad room was deserted (no doubt the team was with Ducky or Abby discussing him). He didn't think of leaving a not for Gibbs as he grabbed his gear and left._

Tonys dream changed suddenly and he twitched in his sleep. It wasn't a memory now, but a made up scene of something that he had found himself dreading since Amelia had settled in his life.

" _She's my daughter, Tony, MINE!" Crystal said, taking Amelia from the crib in Tonys bedroom._

" _You left her, Crystal, she's staying with me." He made to grab the little girl but both her and Crystal dissolved in to thin air, only to be replaced by Helen Tailor._

" _Crystal is perfectly capable of taking care of Amelia. It's only right she takes her daughter back."_

 _Helen disappeared and was replaced by Director Vance._

" _You go attached, DiNozzo. She's not yours to keep."_

 _Vance disappeared and Tony was once again standing in his bedroom, staring at the empty crib, an aching feeling in his heart._

Tony woke with a start, and for one horrible moment he thought his dream had been real because he couldn't feel Amelia in his arms. But he couldn't feel her, and upon looking down, he knew why - she wasn't there. Tony jumped up. Vance was no longer in the office and neither was Amelia, nor her diaper bag. Dream Vance had been right, he _had_ become attached to his little sister, and his biggest fear was her mom coming and taking her away.

He left the office and hurried towards the squad room and stopped dead at the top of the stairs. It seems Vance was responsible for Amelia's disappearance, because there he was, standing at McGees desk, the diaper bag open on it. To Tonys amazement, the whole team was there, even Jimmy Palmer, the autopsy gremlin. The thing that made him stop though, was the sight of Gibbs. His boss was sitting on his desk, Amelia on his hip laughing away at the funny voices Tony could hear him doing. He'd never seen Gibbs so happy before, and he felt guilty for not telling him about Amelia, but he got so caught up in his baby sisters needs that just hadn't gotten around to doing it. Gibbs caught his eye and for a brief second his face changed in to something very, _very_ dark but he was grinning again almost instantly.

"Hey, DiNozzo, since when did you have a sister?"


End file.
